While he is known for being a staunch Democrat, actor Richard Dreyfuss has been playing the role of political tourist of late, soaking up all the sights and sounds that this election season has to offer.

However, his appearance at a recent Ted Cruz rally sparked sparked an angry response from some liberals, so the star of ABC’s recent miniseries “Madoff” appeared on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” Thursday night to explain why he attended the Republican candidate’s event in Iowa on Jan. 30.

“I went to hear whether or not there’d be a difference between what I was hearing through the TV camera and live,” Dreyfuss told host Megyn Kelly via satellite while he sat next to his son, Harry.

“I’ve enjoyed listening to him [Cruz] even though we don’t agree on everything,” the actor went on to say. “So when he came up to me that day, I was ripe — I was ready to be talked to.”

But son Harry Dreyfuss, who is a writer and director based in Los Angeles, was more bothered about the backlash the rally sparked than his famous father was. “When I saw that people were attacking my dad for his curiosity, it offended me on principle,” he told Kelly.

The “Jaws” star side-stepped Kelly when she asked: “It doesn’t sound like you are going to vote for Ted Cruz. Have you decided who you are going to support?”

“No, I run a nonprofit initiative to bring the study of civics back to grades to graduation,” he replied. “If we don’t know civics … we are giving up knowledge of the greatest political revolution in the history of civilization.”

When interviewed at the Ames, Iowa, event last month, Dreyfuss told reporters that he isn’t supporting Cruz — or any other candidate just yet. “It’s the politics of my country, so I’m interested,” the actor who played Dick Cheney in “W” said.

“We come at it from different places,” Dreyfuss continued, according to the Dallas Morning News. “But he reveres the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When you seek to be the president of a country that has 300 million people, you can’t get everyone on the same platform. You can’t. But if you can make it clear that the most important things are shared, then fine.”

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